EASTON, Md. — Perhaps every collector dreams of finding that hidden treasure, that diamond in the rough, lost among the merchandise at a thrift store. There are stories of miraculous finds – beautiful jewelry, important pieces of furniture and even a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence have been found among more pedestrian items. However, when the staff of the thrift store itself discovers a true prize and is able to make that treasure benefit its community – that’s the stuff of legends.

Around March 19, an unknown donor left several items at the Easton Goodwill store, located on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Among these items was a painting in an ornate frame. In the painting, dark-clothed Parisians linger at a flower stall. It appears to be evening, and the pavement is wet from a recent rain.

However, it was the frame that caught the employees’ attention. The gilded frame included a placard with the painting’s title, Place de la Republique, Marche aux Fleurs, and its artist, Edouard Léon Cortès.

Cortès, born in 1882, was a painter of the French Impressionist school. Art ran in his family – his father had been a painter for the royal court of Spain. His first Parisian exhibition, in 1901, was well received, and he became known as the “Parisian Poet of Painting” for his city street scenes. After being wounded by a bayonet during World War I, Cortès served as an artist for the French army, sketching enemy positions. Famous for his unassuming and simple lifestyle, Cortès died in 1969.

Cortès’ paintings are identifiable by their cityscape subject matter, as well as vivid portrayals of light. Many seem to have been painted following a rainstorm. Marche aux Fleurs seems a perfect example of his work.

The employees at the Easton Goodwill put the painting aside, and when Terri Tonelli, the store manager, returned from vacation, she immediately began researching. A Google search yielded information about Cortès, and Tonelli noticed similarities between the authenticated Cortès paintings online and the work at the store. She then sent the painting to Goodwill’s regional headquarters in Baltimore.

According to Ursula Villar, director of marketing and development of Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake Inc., the painting was authenticated as a Cortès by a third party, and Sotheby’s New York auction house was contacted.

Jennifer Roth, Sotheby’s senior vice president and head of midseason art sales, notes that when the painting arrived in New York, a thorough cleaning brought out its beautiful, vibrant colors. A “particularly lovely,” dense scene emerged with beautiful light effects. The painting had never been restored, a lucky thing.

On June 6, at a Sotheby’s art auction, Marche aux Fleurs was one of two Cortès paintings offered. It reached a price of $40,625 (with buyer’s premium). The other painting, larger and depicting a winter scene, sold for just slightly less.

According to Villar, the money generated from the sale will go “straight back to the community” of Easton. Goodwill’s mission is to help local communities by securing job training and placement for those in need. According to Goodwill Industries website, the company is “North America’s leading nonprofit provider of education, training and career services for people with disadvantages, such as welfare dependency, homelessness and lack of education or work experience, as well as those with physical, mental and emotional disabilities.”

Villar credits the entire Goodwill staff with finding this valuable painting: “It was a real team effort the whole way.” She points out that while employees spotting a treasure at the thrift store is not a common occurrence, it is has happened before. In fact, Goodwill maintains an eBay-esque online auction site, Shopgoodwill.com. There, regional branches of Goodwill post treasures and more valuable merchandise culled from their inventories. Paintings on Shopgoodwill.com have occasionally sold for as much as $100,000.

Villar also notes that years ago, Goodwill stores received more donations of large items, such as antique furniture. Today, those pieces seem to go more often to consignment shops. However, there are still smaller treasures – art and antique and vintage jewelry, especially – to be found at the thrift stores.

But where did Marche aux Fleurs come from? In a column in the June 28 Baltimore Sun, Jacques Kelly speculates that the piece might have once been part of the Cortès collection at Haussner’s Restaurant, a now closed, but legendary Baltimore restaurant. Haussner’s décor was a hodgepodge of paintings, sculpture and glass; every inch of the restaurant seemed covered in art. In fact, Kelly recalls, “Dozens of Cortès paintings once resided in Baltimore at Haussner’s.”

The restaurant closed in 1999, and the art collection was sold at auction in New York. Could Marche aux Fleurs have been part of that?

Villar likes to speculate that the donation was not accidental – that an anonymous philanthropist wanted to give the Easton Goodwill something that would really make a difference. And more than $40,000 in proceeds benefiting the community will indeed make a difference. As Villar says, “It’s a happy ending for everyone.”